Captain Lawrence Brewing Company Effortless IPA

**Aroma:** “Surprisingly malty nose with light caramel and toastiness. Mild paper oxidation. Faint hops aroma is earthy, like damp soil, but hard to find. Cloves, orange peel, toast, yeast, and hints of black pepper..” **Flavor:** “More hops in the flavor, offering an herbal blend of mint and marjoram, but the malt is far more forward— grainy with some toasty notes. Papery oxidation here, too, and mild bitterness. Hops flavor seems muddled and indistinct. Instead, I get a more saison-like quality with yeast esters and phenols. Cloves and even a bit of cracked black pepper, then a dry, bitter nish.” **Overall:** “Is this a session saison? The yeasty aromatics and avors seem more at home in a Biere de Table than in an American session IPA. I actually quite like this beer, but it works better as a generic Belgian-style table beer. Tartness when I swallow lingers on the back of the tongue. Very dry finish.”

**Aroma:** “Citrusy, lemony, with a bit of tangerine and tropical fruit punch. Little to no malt aroma. Mild hops nose with light coconut and pineapple notes.” **Flavor:** “More tangerine in the flavor than in the aroma, but less of the lemony citrus. Juicy hops flavor with enough malt sweetness to support it. Bitterness balances the malt without overpowering. More of that coconut and pineapple, buoyed by the caramel malt and light toffee. Bitterness lasts into the aftertaste, but some malt stays with it.” **Overall:** “One of the better session IPAs I’ve had, like a Deschutes Fresh Squeezed ‘Lite.’ Tropical-fruit character combined with caramel malt depth makes it imminently drinkable. I could easily knock back several of these and make it a true session—something I can’t always say about this style. The overall impression is that this seems sweet for a session IPA, but the flavors work well enough.”

**Aroma:** “Moderate earthy hops, touch of floral, light sweetness, very light toasty, touch of caramel. Pine, citrus, and a little bit of fruit. A very fun aroma that is constantly evolving.” **Flavor:** “Moderate toasty, light sweetness, earthy hops, moderate pine, touch of floral, aftertaste. Malt depth is nice, with some fun caramel notes playing alongside the hops. Similar to the aroma, but the resinous pine character is more prominent, hiding some of the more fruity characters. That sharp pine character heightens the bitterness, though it doesn’t linger too long, due to the more complex malt character displayed.” **Overall:** “Fun earthy/floral hops IPA with a fair bit of malt backbone. I could almost call this an English IPA. An evergreen-heavy IPA that bows (ha!) in deference to the Northwest, whether it’s brewed there or not. Bitterness is firm but appropriate here. The malt depth is also nice. A unique and fun beer that is a nice departure from the more fruity IPAs in vogue. A perfect example of how malt complexity can heighten and balance hops character.”